Meeuws heading back home

By CHRIS RATTUE

Test prop Kees Meeuws will return to Auckland next season as he looks to regain his All Black position.

The 27-year-old tighthead will quit Otago, where he made his name after failing to crack the powerful Auckland line-up of the mid-1990s.

Meeuws, who has played 18 tests, did not want to comment yesterday and informed an Otago official that there might be some legal problem with his intended move.

But his Otago contract ends this year and barring any hitches, Meeuws will return to his home province, where he will try to shake off a plague of injuries and push his claims to be in the 2003 World Cup plans.

An Otago source said the Meeuws move was a "done deal."

While Otago and the Highlanders are saying Meeuws will go with their blessing, some officials made it clear they would much prefer to hang on to his services.

But with Carl Hoeft and new test forward Carl Hayman, who is primarily a tighthead, also in the Otago squad, the move makes plenty of sense for Meeuws, who should be assured of more game time with his old province.

With Frenchman Christian Califano just a temporary Auckland recruit, it seems that Meeuws is the player Auckland will base their scrum around, while he and North Harbour's Tevita Taumoepeau look the long-term Blues tighthead prospects.

Auckland chief executive David White stuck to his standard line last night, saying he would not comment on players not contracted to his union.

Meanwhile, North Harbour say they are hopeful of staving off Otago's bid to sign wing Aisea Tuilevu.

Harbour are also upset that a powerful Super 12-base franchise such as Otago is trying to lure Tuilevu away.

The 29-year-old was a late addition to the Highlanders squad before the 2001 season, and now Otago want to recruit him for their NPC squad.

North Harbour went through a similar battle when No 8 Ron Cribb joined the Crusaders last year and then became the target of the Canterbury union for the NPC squad.

North Harbour also lost prop Tony Coughlan when the Hurricanes insisted he join the Wellington NPC squad if he wanted to be part of the Super 12 side.

North Harbour chief executive Doug Rollerson said he would raise the matter at a meeting of chief executives in Wellington on Tuesday.

"The Super 12 bases are the privileged unions. They claim they don't use those tactics to entice players, but everyone knows that's a crock," Rollerson said.

"We've raised the issue before and we'll raise it again."

Auckland have thrown in the young rookie locking combination of Bryce and Ali Williams (they are not related) against Otago at Carisbrook tomorrow.

Robin Brooke, who is nursing a thumb injury, is on the bench and Charles Riechelmann (hand injury) will travel to Dunedin, but is not expected to claim a late place in the team. Otago will be without their injured All Black halfback pairing of Byron Kelleher and Tony Brown, and Taine Randell is still sidelined.

Counties Manukau have put first five-eighths Blair Feeney on the reserves' bench and replaced him with usual fullback Loki Crichton for their match against Canterbury at Pukekohe Stadium on Sunday.